Magic move top after beating T'birds

Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic catapulted to the top of the ladder with a 59-42 win over Adelaide Thunderbirds in Tauranga on Saturday.

The Thunderbirds should have been on song following their 27-goal mauling of NSW Swifts last week, but were comprehensively outplayed as the Magic romped to their eighth straight win.

Silver Ferns shooters Irene van Dyk and Julianna Naoupu have developed a slick in-circle combination, with Naoupu's willingness to put the shots up and her accuracy under pressure playing a big part in the Magic's 15-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.

At the other end of the court, Leana de Bruin proved more than a match for rangy Thunderbirds goal shooter Carla Borrego.

Showing superb elevation, she worked well with goal defence Casey Williams in shutting down the Jamaican's combination with goal attack Erin Bell.

As a result, the Thunderbird midcourt - led by Australia international Natalie von Bertouch - grew more hesitant as the second half progressed, and the Magic jumped out to a nine-goal lead before a mini-revival in the last few minutes closed the gap.

Ahead 27-21 at half-time, the Magic opened the third quarter with a five-goal run to build up a 10-goal lead.

And although the Thunderbirds responded with a fight-back of their own to pull back three, the Magic's accuracy and pace on attack continued to find huge gaps in the Adelaide defence.

They outscored the Thunderbirds 18-7 to lead 45-28 at the three-quarter mark, but had to survive a strong start in the final quarter from Adelaide before controlling the closing stages to shut out the win.

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